Beans promote domestic tranquillity

Imagine the scene in the U.S. Senate. It was a sweltering summer day in 1907.

"Thunderation!" cried Joseph G. Cannon, the speaker of the House, his outburst sparked by bean hunger and anger over what he perceived as an uncaring Senate restaurant kitchen. The chef neglected to make the traditional bean soup that day. Cannon (R-Ill.) was steamed up about it.

According to acclaimed cookbook writer Crescent Dragonwagon ("Bean by Bean," Workman, $15.95), what followed was a plea to serve bean soup every day, "hot, cold, rain, snow or shine."

The Senate passed a resolution (the members somehow agreed on the soup subject) that regardless of weather, when the Senate is in session, bean soup must be on the Senate restaurant menu. And so it is to this day.

Dragonwagon and I agree that the recipe for the U.S. Senate navy bean soup could use some sprucing up. It's a basic formula that teams onion, water, ham hocks and navy beans.

It's not too different from my dad's frugal version, a white-bean concoction he called slumgullion. A survivor of the Great Depression, Dad relished the fact that everyone loved his soupy-beans-for-pennies.

He simmered the dried beans along with a ham hock in water to cover, cooking until the cream-colored legumes had interiors as soft as ripe bananas.

Diners could augment their servings with any of the optional toppings: ketchup, black pepper, hot-sauce and/or Saltine crackers. A wealthy friend once told me that Dad's white beans were his favorite dish this side of Paris.

Six variations on the white-bean-soup theme are detailed in Dragonwagon's "Bean by Bean" (the seventh cookbook from the award-winning wordsmith). One of her jazzed up renditions has veggie chorizo and bell pepper added; another has smoky bacon, diced butternut squash and corn kernels.

I like to sauté diced celery and carrots and add some chopped fresh kale to the mix; the colorful combo brightens up the bowl, along with a good splash of vinegar-spiked hot sauce. Plus salt to taste, and a good dose of freshly ground black pepper (my additions are noted in the recipe's cook's notes).

I thought I'd tasted delicious baked beans in my day, but Dragonwagon's Orange Blossom Special Baked Beans are my new favorite. She omits the traditional brown sugar and molasses in favor of orange marmalade, honey and cayenne pepper.

The citrusy-sweet-spicy concoction is worth the time it takes to bake, a seven- to eight-hour affair best tackled when housebound.

An avid gardener who has grown more than 31 bean varieties, she doesn't neglect fresh, edible-pod beans in her book. She showcases quickly blanched sugar snap peas in a scrumptious spinach salad with orange (or tangerine) segments and perky vinaigrette.

Her recipes are highlighted this week, along with my favorite white bean chili, a recipe I snapped up years ago from my friend Sylvia Hansink. I love to top servings of the chicken-enriched mixture with grated Jack cheese, crumbled tortilla chips and slices of avocado. Enjoy the bean love.

Picking over dried beans: Pour raw, dried beans out on a white kitchen towel, then spread them out and have a good look. Last week I found an itty-bitty rock in some dried navy beans from a local supermarket.

Soak to unmake the mischief: I love how Dragonwagon describes intestinal gas as mischief. Help to de-gas dried beans by soaking them in cold water (the level of the water should be 2 inches above the surface of the beans) for 6 to 8 hours. Or use the quick method: Place beans in pot and cover with water by 1 to 2 inches. Boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and allow beans to sit in the water for 1 hour. With either method, drain and rinse beans well after soaking.

Mischief slowdown: A UC Berkeley study found that bean-eating subjects "reported greater tolerance and less discomfort by the end of a three-week period of bean eating."

Salt? Don't add any until the beans are thoroughly cooked and tender. The same goes for vinegar, lemon juice and tomatoes. These ingredients toughen the outer coats, or skins, of the beans. When adding salt at the end, do so to taste. Cooked (dried) beans need salt to be happy.

Shopping tips: When purchasing packaged dried beans, look for undamaged bags or boxes with beans of uniform size. As tempting as the packages of assorted beans appear, arranged in their clear cellophane packages, I steer clear of most dried "bean soup mixes." Due to the differences in size and density of the beans, they require different cooking times; sometimes the results are unsatisfactory.

Buying edible-pod beans: They should make a snapping sound when broken in half, and should be free of discoloration or soft spots.

Storage: Store dried beans in a well-sealed container at cool room temperature. They should keep for up to one year. They will take longer to cook as they age.

Do not mix older dried beans with a new batch: Cooking times of old and new supply will likely vary. Refrigerate leftover cooked dried beans, airtight, up to 4 days. Bean soups freeze beautifully; eat within three months for best flavor.